Clear to Iowa
by rmartin
Summary: Abby finds something that peaks her interest. How will she use this piece of information, this piece of Theatre? Part of my Theatre Stories. Abby/Gibbs hero worship-friendship. Rating for safety. Please please R&R for my reference.
1. One

**A/N: I am continuing set of stories linking my favourite shows to my profession, Theatre. I figure that with all the moving around the people in my favourite shows do, they are bound to encounter Theatre one or twice. PLEASE R&R so I can know if this is working or not. Look for other stories in this series including the already published Criminal Intent "Has the Character" and to include House MD, Torchwood and CSI.  
_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or any of the bits of Plays or Stories... just the situations in which they collide._**

* * *

Abby was used to babysitting her cousin. Not that Jayson was supposed to know it was babysitting, he was just supposed to think that every time his parents needed to go somewhere, his cousin showed up to hang out. The seventeen year-old was beyond being that naive but since he thought Abby was freaking awesome, and she knew that, it was ok. He let himself be covertly babysat.

"What's this?" Abby asked as she pointed to a mottled-cover notebook on his desk. She'd been watching him play Bioshock while she was fiddling with one of the spikes on her bracelet.

"Drama Notebook. We use it in class, put stuff in it. Monologues we rehearsed, whateverthehellelse she tells us to. An 'Inspiration Book', she calls it. It's alright. It helps me organize things anyway." Jayson was working some puzzle with pipes that Abby could have worked out in seconds, but he was doing alright so she decided not to interfere.

"Oh, so can I look through it? I mean if it is personal I won't but I am curious. Whateveryouwantthough." They definitely were related, they had a habit of speaking with the same run-together quick-as-lightning fashion that made no sense to people not of Sciuto descent.

"Yeah you can look. There's cool stuff in there. I take after you, I like to research."

"Oh darn right you do. You know it kid, the deeper the search, the more thorough the re-search, the more fun the eventual answer. Life is a giant mystery and- oooh, Theatre posters!"

"Yeah some of those are pretty cool. I had to research designs for a set for a test. We had to describe how we would stage MacBeth. Awesome, yeah?"

"Yeah." Abby flipped through more pages, occasionally 'ooh'ing or making a comment about something in the scribblings that overflowed the notebook. She stopped on one page and read for a minute. Then she opened the notebook flat and set it on the desk. She slammed her hand down on top of the page.

"Another sheet of paper, get me another sheet of paper. Jayson, what IS this?" He scrambled to pause his game and drag a sheet of paper out of the printer. Abby was fumbling around on the floor through a pile of pens that had made their way to the corner of the desk instead of the drawer. Jayson looked at the page she had her hand pressed against.

"Its a monologue Abbs. From a play. Sam Shepard. He wrote it. It is called Buried Child. We had to find a monologue that described something that couldn't happen in real life, and tell how we would stage it."

"Sam Shepard, Shepard..." Abby was copying the words as fast as she could, tongue poked out from one corner of her mouth. "The name sounds familiar."

"He's an actor too." Jayson stared at how concentrated she was on the writing, and how bizarre it was that she was suddenly so focused. That was an out of character trait for Abby for sure.

"Ew, that guy from The Notebook?" Abby made a face at the name of the movie. "He's done other things too." Jayson replied and Abby said "I bet Tony knows all about him. I bet he didn't know he wrote things like this though."

She copied a few moments more and then stopped. "Done." she said. Jayson looked at her for a second as she folded the paper. She picked the notebook back up and started flipping pages. As he turned back to the computer screen she said to him "Look out for that guy with the lead pipe on your- I told you he was there."


	2. Two

**A/N: I am continuing set of stories linking my favourite shows to my profession, Theatre. I figure that with all the moving around the people in my favourite shows do, they are bound to encounter Theatre one or twice. PLEASE R&R so I can know if this is working or not. Look for other stories in this series including the already published Criminal Intent "Has the Character" and to include House MD, Torchwood and CSI.  
_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or any of the bits of Plays or Stories... just the situations in which they collide._**

* * *

Abby came in to work the next day with her happy face on, coupled with her happy clothes. It was, in general, a happy day. It was the last day of work before her birthday over the weekend. She was having a party and everyone from work was invited, but she knew they would treat her special today anyway. So she was ready for it. A few of the techs from other teams saw her on her way to the lab and waved and smiled. A few other agents from different teams were in the elevator as she went down and when they saw her "Its my Birthday" pin on her black lace dress, they wished her a good day. She waltzed, more than walked, into her office and slung off her black purse as she pulled on her white lab coat. She liked her lab coat, it was one of the few things she wore that was plain, uncomplicated.

There was already a huge pile of presents on her table next to the Mass-Spec and she decided to try and hold off on them for a little while but she knew it was going to be hard. She picked Bert up from on top of her file cabinet and squeezed him just enough for a little fart to escape before she tried to do some work.

The work lasted all of about ten minutes and then she was on to her pile of presents. She rationalized with herself that it would be rude to not have already seen the presents when the team started to come in and wish her Happy Birthday. So she went to the table to open the first one.

It was from Ducky, and Palmer. It was a Complete Grey's Anatomy Coloring Book. She knew why they chose it as soon as she saw it. She'd told them just a few weeks ago that she had one as a child and always wanted to find one again. What she hadn't told them, as she grinned devilishly, was that this one was NOT to be colored in a realistic fashion. She wondered if she could color a good approximation of smoker's lung.

Next up was from Agent Lee, Abby hadn't exactly seen that coming. It was just a card though; Abby opened it and read what it said. The card was actually quite humorous and contained an IOU for one "Get out of Court Free" session for the next minor legal mishap she might have. Even though she hoped there wouldn't be a "next minor legal mishap", Abby was glad that she was thought of so well.

Director Shepard had given her a special gift certificate to a spa, referencing the day Abby told her about liking hot stone massages. According to the Director's card, this spa gave the best ones in the tri-state area. Abby was usually creeped out by spas, but the slight masochism of having hot rocks placed on your body placated her creepedness and caused her to anticipate using this present a good deal. She smiled and wondered if she could stop opening presents now. Not a chance.

Ziva's next. A bracelet, tiny spiders in a chain made from Israeli copper. That was truly awesome, in Abby's book. She would wear it when she went to see the next blockbuster Zombie flick with Tony; his present was a movie gift certificate and the promise of a date for said movie. Abby was more and more pleased as she realised with every gift how much her colleagues, her friends, really liked her.

McGee's gift looked like long-stem roses, it was certainly in a rose box. She couldn't understand though why he hadn't put them out like usual. Every time Tim got her black roses he put them in a vase, not a box. She opened the box, a little bit more curious than before. It WAS long-stem roses, but it wasn't too. It was one long-stem black rose, made of glass. It was too amazing; Abby hoped it wasn't also too expensive. If Tony could out do himself with his exuberance and fun personality then McGee could definitely out do himself with his thoughtfulness. She placed the rose in a particularly high-sided beaker where it couldn't get hurt, and placed it in her office far away from possible bumps and nudges.

Abby didn't have any more presents on her table, but she knew why. She could feel it. If she just turned around now- "Hi Gibbs!" Abby pulled her lab coat back a little so she knew the "Its My Birthday" pin was showing and smiled her biggest smile. Gibbs was walking toward her with an equally big smile on his face.

"Happy Birthday Abby, I don't have a present for you yet." Her face scrunched a little into a much-exaggerated pout. "I couldn't find anything I wanted to get you but don't you worry, its coming."

"But Gi-ibbs, my birthday is tomorrow, that's Saturday. I am NOT coming in, even if you are." She smiled, knowing that he wasn't going to make her come in on her birthday as long as nothing major was happening.

"I thought you were having a party, Abby?" Gibbs said. "They told me this time it was a NORMAL party, not one of your Gothic, costume affairs."

"Oh Gibbs it is SO normal. Its not even any of my Gothic, costumed friends. We're saving that party for a convention weekend. This is just the team, at a bar, a NORMAL bar; Tony got us a private room. So if you wanted to be invited, you are totally invited." She patted his arm in a friendly, buddy-like gesture. She tried to make a macho face, like she had just invited Gibbs to go fishing.

"Ok Abbs, I will. It sounds like a good time. I'll look for your present tomorrow and I will have it when I get there." He started to walk out the door.

"Oh, no! I just realized, I know what I want you to give me, don't buy me a thing!" She instantly had an idea; an idea she didn't realize would be so easy to pull off.

"What idea Abby?" "It's a request Gibbs, nothing too difficult, but it would make my life right now. Ok? Please say you'll do it, for me?"

He was walking again. "Whatever you say Abby, I'll be there."

As soon as he was gone Abby rushed over to her purse and took out the folded piece of printer paper. She unfolded it, read her scrawl and folded it again. "Perfect." She said as she went back to work.


	3. Three

**A/N: I am continuing set of stories linking my favourite shows to my profession, Theatre. I figure that with all the moving around the people in my favourite shows do, they are bound to encounter Theatre one or twice. PLEASE R&R so I can know if this is working or not. Look for other stories in this series including the already published Criminal Intent "Has the Character" and to include House MD, Torchwood and CSI.  
_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or any of the bits of Plays or Stories... just the situations in which they collide._**

* * *

Everything was working well; Abby's party was exactly what she wanted. It was free of loud music, free of gobsf of makeup, free of TOO many pairs of vinyl platform boots. What most people were not aware of was that occasionally even Abby needed a break from her lifestyle. She loved herself with all of her heart, but occasionally it got to be a bit too much.

She was toned down. She was wearing nearly the same thing as everyone else- pants, shirt, shoes. Director Shepard was wearing a skirt, but flat shoes and a blouse with no jacket. Ducky was actually wearing a pair of pants that weren't scrubs or work-related. They were nice, with a neatly pressed seam just as she expected. Tony and Ziva were wearing what they always wore, but Tony had made a slight effort to be festive by bringing both he and Ziva party hats. He wore his at an angle on the side of his head and Ziva wore hers with as much of the disdain scrubbed carefully off of her face as she could muster.

Jimmy and Agent Lee, _"what is her first name, Michelle? God, pay better attention, Abby!_" were around somewhere, she didn't hear them mention where they were going. She suspected something about the two of them, but never had enough time to figure out what it was exactly...

Gibbs was standing next to the Director and McGee, discussing something that was probably inappropriately work-related. Tim was in his 'author ensemble', a direct order from Abby for her birthday, and Gibbs was wearing a pair of jeans and a very soft-looking sweater. Abby intended to hug that sweater for all it was worth at some point in the evening. She went to go break up the work talk but before she could get there Ziva stopped her.

"What did you get for your birthday?" She asked as she put her party hat on Abby, pretending that it was a gesture of fun rather than one to remove the hat from her own head.

"Oh stuff. Movie tickets from Tony, a coloring book from Ducky and Palmer. I'll show you what McGee gave me on Monday." She smiled at Ziva and wondered if the black and white party hat, Tony managed to find black and white ones that didn't say 'Over the Hill', looked good with the rest of her outfit. It had taken her all week to make sure the red silky shirt and black pants were both back from the dry cleaners in time. She picked up a spoon from a table and tried to scrutinize her distorted features in the reflection.

"Abby," Gibbs walked up to her now, smiling as he saw how her face looked in the bowl of the spoon. "What is it I am supposed to do for you for your birthday?"

"OHH!" Abby slammed the spoon down on the table, picked it back up and quickly mumbled an apology to the piece of flatware and then ran over to her purse. She grabbed the piece of printer paper from the place where she'd stowed it specifically for easy access.

"Read this for me, Gibbs." She said as she returned to him, unfolding the paper and turning it so that he could read it. He glanced at the paper as he took it from her hands.

"Is it a poem, Abby?" He looked down and didn't recognize the words as poetry so he looked back at her with a quizzical look.

"No, it's a monologue, you know, from a play? I just umm... wanted to hear a man's voice read it. And you know I love your voice best, Boss." She tried to put on a face that said this was casual. Tried not to arouse any suspicion in him.

"What play?" He looked around to see if anyone else was paying attention to their conversation; everyone was lost in their own.

"It is called Buried Child. You'll like it Gibbs. Please read it for me." She took two steps back and looked at him with a small pleading face. Gibbs knew that Abby wouldn't wipe this expression off her face until every word was read.

"Alright Abby, since it is your birthday, I can do that for you." He cleared his throat and started to read.


	4. Four

**A/N: I am continuing set of stories linking my favourite shows to my profession, Theatre. I figure that with all the moving around the people in my favourite shows do, they are bound to encounter Theatre one or twice. PLEASE R&R so I can know if this is working or not. Look for other stories in this series including the already published Criminal Intent "Has the Character" and to include House MD, Torchwood and CSI.  
_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or any of the bits of Plays or Stories... just the situations in which they collide._**

* * *

"I was gonna run last night." His voice registered the question in his eyes. He looked up at Abby like he hadn't the first idea why she wanted him to read this. He probably really didn't have the first idea. She bit her lip and raised her eyebrows, very clearly stating "please?" with her expression.

He sighed. "I was gonna run and keep right on running. Clear to the Iowa border." McGee stopped talking to Ziva and looked over at Gibbs from across the room. He mouthed the words "I know this" to her and walked over to stand behind Abby. Ziva trailed slightly after.

"I drove all night with the windows open. The old man's two bucks flapping right on the seat beside me. It never stopped raining the whole time. Never stopped once." By this time, everyone else had stopped what they were doing and were all listening to Gibbs. He didn't look up now, as his voice started to reflect that he knew exactly what Abby was asking of him. He started to act.

"I could see myself in the windshield. My face. My eyes. I studied my face. Studied everything about it as though I was looking at another man. As though I could see his whole race behind him. Like a mummy's face. I saw him dead and alive at the same time. In the same breath. In the windshield I watched him breathe as though he was frozen in time and every breath marked him. Marked him forever without him knowing."

Gibbs took a deeply inhaled breath, tightened his grip on the paper and kept reading, not noticing his audience had grown to its maximum size.

"And then his face changed. His face became his father's face. Same bones. Same eyes. Same nose. Same breath. And his father's face changed to his grandfather's face. And it went on like that. Changing. Clear on back to faces I'd never seen before but still recognized. Still recognized the bones underneath. Same eyes. Same mouth. Same breath. I followed my family clear into Iowa. Every last one. Straight into the corn belt and further. Straight back as far as they'd take me. Then it all dissolved. Everything dissolved."

Gibbs studied the last lines on the paper and read them aloud while looking up into the faces of his team, without actually seeing them. "Just like that. And that two bucks kept right on flapping on the seat beside me."

No one moved, everyone felt a little self-conscious it seemed. The air in the small room had become very still, almost as if they'd all stopped breathing. Tony, Ziva and McGee were all trying not to make eye contact with Gibbs, or each other. Director Shepard and Ducky exchanged a meaningful look as Ducky took her empty glass from her hand and set it on a nearby table. Agent Lee and Palmer, who had been strangely absent for a few minutes of time, walked back in the room and stifled their laughter that had been threatening to erupt.

They looked around the small room and noticed three things. One was not as unusual as the others. One was that Abby looked as though she were going to cry. That happened fairly regularly. Two, everyone in the room was stone silent, a feat not usually achieved with such an array of characters. Third, and most strange of all, Gibbs stood in the middle of them all, looking distinctly vulnerable and embarrassed.

He finally looked up. He spoke.

"Like that, Abby?" Everyone else moved to resume some form of normal activity before the spell was broken and Gibbs returned to his usual self. Abby just looked at him as the two giant tears that had escaped her eyes ran slowly down her face.

"Just like that, Gibbs." She sniffled and before the sniffle was complete, Gibbs had swiped a bar napkin from a table and brought it to her face. She took it out of his hands and dabbed at her eyes gratefully, saying "thank you" with every dab.

"Why did you want me to read that, Abbs? Just to hear the sound of my voice?" He smiled a little, knowing how much she liked to hear the sound of her own voice too.

"No, well not really. I do love it when you talk to me Gibbs. You could read the phone book and I would listen. It wasn't really that." She sniffled again but the two tears were the only physical evidence of her emotion.

"Then what was it?" He smiled a little again, looking at how unwilling she had become to discuss it. She was embarrassed; he liked that a bit because it meant she hadn't just done it for the sake of it.

"You, you never tell us anything personal Gibbs. Anything we've found out about you has either been not so important, or come from other people. Mike, you when you didn't know us any more. You never tell us things yourself. But when I read that monologue, I thought it sounded like you. I thought if you read it I would learn something new about you. Even if it weren't true Gibbs, that could be something right out of your life. That was what I wanted for my birthday. I wanted to hear you tell me something personal about yourself. You just did, I think." She heaved a sigh that betrayed that she didn't expect the moment to become so personal indeed.

Gibbs reached out for her, "Oh come here kid" "I'm not a ki-," "KID." He wrapped her up in a hug that was no bigger than the ones she got at work, but definitely tighter because she DID intend to squeeze the life out of his sweater. The fabric was as soft as she imagined and she took a deep breath of it to recover from her sighing.

"I might not tell you things Abby, but that's my fault, not yours. Don't ever think I don't want you to know me." They smiled into each other's faces for a moment before Gibbs let her go saying, "Happy birthday. You know you will have a present from me by Monday though, right?" Abby took two steps back.

"I'll expect nothing less Gibbs." The rest of the group seemed to have recovered from the awkward moments and were chatting again on the sidelines.

Ducky saw that the intimacy between Gibbs and Abby had returned to normal levels and announced as he programmed a few songs into the jukebox in the room "And now, for dancing!"

Tony clapped his hands; Palmer and Lee started dancing immediately, Ziva just groaned as McGee grabbed her by the hand. Ducky was leading the Director in to a slightly larger space between the tables and Gibbs just said to no one in particular, "I'll sit this evening out."

"Its ok Gibbs." Abby said as Tony did a one-man Conga line toward her. She smiled at him and looked back to where Gibbs had propped himself with his drink. "I got my present. You can go back to being just you. I like you that way anyway."


End file.
